People with dangerously high cholesterol could get an alternative to taking statins after fresh research raised the possibility of the creation of a new type of drug that would reduce their risk of a heart attack.

A study published today in The Lancet found that British and American participants in an early-stage clinical trial saw their level of LDL or bad cholesterol fall by up to 57% as a result of taking ALN-PCS. It works by stopping the body's production of a protein known as PCSK9, which helps reduce cholesterol.

Heart campaigners gave the news a cautious welcome. "People with extremely high cholesterol are at increased risk of a heart attack and this approach could offer new hope for those who are resistant to statins," said Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation.

Robert Cramb, head of the board of trustees at Heart UK, said the drugs were "effective at lowering bad cholesterol but, like most medications, they do have side-effects".

While seven million Britons take statins to tackle their cholesterol, the unknown number of people who cannot tolerate them could potentially benefit if the new drugs – known as RNA interference therapeutics – prove successful, said Kevin Fitzgerald from the drugs firm Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, who did the research.

"If successfully developed this class of drugs could be an alternative to the one in five people who are resistant to statins, or be combined with statins to produce even greater effects for the many others for whom the current first line treatment does not lower cholesterol enough," said Fitzgerald.

The drugs could ultimately improve the health of almost all the estimated 120,000 Britons with familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) and the other 120,000 who have not been diagnosed with it, Weissberg added.